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Research: Ammonia based printhead cleaner search.

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#1: Research: Ammonia based printhead cleaner search. Author: Martin, Location: South Yorkshire, UK

Posted: Sun Jan 08, 2006 3:00 pm
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This thread has been put up to help with a little research that helps identify household or similar products that, when used properly, can assist in printhead cleaning for inkjet printers.

The main area I'm keen to concentrate on is the UK as that seems to be devoid of the sort of thing required whilst the USA has a specific brand of Windex that does the trick. Other areas/countries are welcome to provide their own solutions and/or request help finding their own solutions.

Once we've got some results I'll compile a reference table/doc to make the whole process a lot less painful.

Thanks in advance for your contributions...

#2: Author: Martin, Location: South Yorkshire, UK

Posted: Thu Jan 19, 2006 3:02 pm
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Having spent some time talking to an ex Epson service engineer I've been told that basically it's a waste of time even trying to look for something like this in a household product.

Instead it's better to buy it as pure ammonia and then dilute it with distilled water. Addition of a small amount of pure alcohol (or even vodka - so I'm told) will also help but I might not go that route with a print head like the Canon as that gets heated.

Mix to your own requirements.

IMPORTANT: Safety is a must with ammonia and a face mask is essential as is the need to do all the work in a room that 100% open to allow lots of fresh air and removal of fumes. As with any potentially hazardous material/solution you must keep this safe and locked away from children, etc... and MARK IT CLEARLY!

The information provided is just that, information, if you choose to try this yourself you are responsible for any and all problems, or injuries that result.

#3: Author: thuglife,

Posted: Fri May 12, 2006 3:07 am
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does any type of windex work?
and how do i use it?

#4: Mr Muscle clear window cleaner Author: easyrefill,

Posted: Fri May 12, 2006 10:40 am
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This alert message is to make sure if you decide to use these methods, you must accept responsibility for your actions. Any modifications you do on the printer will invalidate your warranty. It is your own fault if you somehow screw up the printer. You do not have to use the information posted here.

I am able to get a Mr Muscle window cleaner when my C88 was completely clogged after someone removed the cartridges and forget to re-install it. The print heads are blocked and no inks are passing through.

I used an empty refillable cartridge and filled it with a Clear Mr Muscle cleaner and dye ink mixture. All I did was to print and let the printer soak. The document I used was a solid color pattern. I was able to slowly clear the print nozzle. ( I noticed the cleaner is amonia based )

The switch from dye ink to pigment ink is making this cleaning cartridge very useful. There are three different ways to clean.

1. Spray cleaning fluid on the waste ink pad - do this with the power cord removed
2. Inject cleaning fluid into the print nozzle - power cord removed also.
3. Use a cleaning cartridge to print and let it soak. Alternate this process, this is the method least likely to damage your printer.

Do this at your own risk. I am not a printer tech. I only experiment and found out what works. It worked for me.

www.efillink.com

www.inkfillshop.com

#5: Re: Mr Muscle clear window cleaner Author: Martin, Location: South Yorkshire, UK

Posted: Fri May 12, 2006 11:40 am
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easyrefill wrote:
I am able to get a Mr Muscle window cleaner when my C88 was completely clogged after someone removed the cartridges and forget to re-install it. The print heads are blocked and no inks are passing through.

Can I assume that this was in the USA? Just that products differ in each country..

#6: Author: thuglife,

Posted: Sat May 13, 2006 6:46 am
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thanks for the info easyrefill
i already know what anything that I do to it will void the warrenty which has expired 3 yrs ago
but a lot of ppl forget that..

Ill see if this method cleans it up

#7: Powerful Household Head Cleaner Author: Jeff, Location: Australia

Posted: Thu Jun 15, 2006 4:08 pm
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Accidentially discovered powerful Head Cleaner in our local Supermarket (Woolworths Australia). Was doing lot of work on getting CIS to work with Canon i9950 and was basically always covered in ink when got some Home Brand Domestic Cleaner on my hands. The ink magically disappeared. A bit of testing showed this stuff dissolved ink from everything, really powerful cleaner.

I had old Canon Print Head which had not been used for several years so soaked head for few minutes and then used syringe and plastic tubing to squirt through Print Head - worked like magic. Printer sprung to life and showed me clearly how far bubblejets have come in last years particulary in print speed. This printer took about 10 minutes to print A4 colour photo although quality was amazingly good.

Anyway, back to subject - the cleaner was marked as "Home Brand Domestic Cleaner Hospital Grade Disinfectant" and was claimed to do it all drains, showers, toilets, nappies, grease and oil. And whats more it did. I tried this stuff out and it was like a miracle. Cost was under $2 per litre and at one stage was on special for $1. I have used on my Canon i9950 with great trepidation and it didn't do any damage and indeed quality did improve so I presume it is safe for use on Bubblejet. It certainly gets rid of blocked dye ink. Initially I diluted but being lazy eventually used concentrate where it is more effective.

The only ingredients listed on the bottle were "Contains Sodium Hydroxide 13g/L. Contains Sodium Hypochlorite (50g/L available Chlorine)".

So there it is for your information - there is something out there that meets the requirements of the post and is much stronger than Windex

#8: Author: Jimbo64,

Posted: Thu Jun 15, 2006 4:31 pm
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Personally, I'm not sure I'd run lye and bleach thru my printer. Both are corrosive chemicals, and when mixed with organic compounds create carcinogens (SP?). I guess as a last resort it might be useful though.

As for cleaning your hands, I sure hope so, it may well just burn the ink off, Very Happy

C-ya, Jimbo.

#9: Author: thuglife,

Posted: Fri Jun 16, 2006 6:00 am
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Most of the windex at stores are mixed with waater
but i got some strong windex
i used it to clean my old printer but havnt yet run it

#10: Author: AlienSteve, Location: Tacoma, WA USA

Posted: Sat Aug 19, 2006 6:47 am
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thuglife wrote:
does any type of windex work?
and how do i use it?

No, most types of Windex (speaking for the USA) now don't have Ammonia in them.

I mix up:

1 part clear nonsudsing unscented household ammonia
4 parts clear unscented isopropyl alcohol
5 parts steam distilled or filtered water

Do NOT use "purified" water. That's just tap water with all the germs killed but all the minerals.

It takes very little ammonia to clean the ink. It chemically disassembles the ink.

I've found the ammonia and water takes off even very dry ink. Alcohol by itself only removes about 80 to 90% but does so very quickly, and won't touch the last 10%. I guess I put them both in for completeness.

I've got some 500ml labeled Rubbermaid containers with a large screw on lid with a small snap lid in the large lid. You don't want to leave it open, as both the ammonia and alcohol will evaporate.

I also make cleaning cartridges with used cartridges. Usually just the partly dried leftover ink is more than enough to mix with the cleaning solution so you can see nozzle checks and such.

FYI: a trick to see the yellow nozzle checks is to use a blue LED flashlight. The yellow looks almost black under blue light.

I saved some past responses to questions on another list. Not well organized, but here's some info on cleaning print heads.
http://www.polyphoto.com/tutorials/PrintHeadCleaning/

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